At Home in the World

Marty Behr

National Parks Revealed

U.S. National Parks

Seattle, WA

866-686-2106

A trip to a national park shouldn't just be about renting a car, buying a guidebook, and following the masses down crowded paths. Behr has explored every corner of 19 parks, probing guides' knowledge and inspecting lodgings from top to bottom. He can orchestrate journeys into the least-visited corners of the "big three"—Yellowstone, Yosemite, and the Grand Canyon—with a guide to explain the geology, flora, and fauna and get you into places off-limits to most visitors, such as the historic buildings by Mary Coulter at the Grand Canyon. But he particularly likes introducing travelers to lesser-known gems such as the North Cascades, with their stunning waterfalls and rustic-feeling but upscale lodges, and combining parks with more urban locations: Joshua Tree with Palm Springs, say, or Big Bend with the artists' community of Marfa, Texas. He can snag rooms in park lodges that have been fully booked for months or arrange for you to camp within the parks—your guide will set up and take down your tent, of course (minimum price per day for two people: $650).